The negatives would be the lax possession through parts of the first half and some wasteful finishing.
The positives would be everything else.
Thanks for following along today. We’ll have much more over the next month as this tournament evolves.
Clint Dempsey: “At the same time, this Bolivia side was poor.”
That’s apt. The US men occasionally play some lower-tier opponents in Concacaf play and in some experimental friendlies, but this Bolivian team was as punchless as advertised.
USA open Copa America with 2-0 win over Bolivia
That seemed routine, in the best possible sense. The USA came out flying and got an early goal. After hitting the doldrums in the first half, they revved it back up again and got a second. In the second half, they simply kept the ball and fired at will – a mix of bad luck, bad finishing and some strong play by Bolivian keeper Viscarra kept it at 2-0.
90 min +2: Replay shows Pepi actually had two chances there. Viscarra makes the save, and it bounces back into Pepi, who can’t direct it past the sprawled keeper.
Now adding injury to insult, Pepi suffers a hard foul. Yellow card and free kick from a wide area.
90 min: Not sure how Pepi didn’t score that time. The ball fizzes into a perfect spot for him, but Viscarra makes the point-blank save.
86 min: Weah is the player who makes way for Aaronson.
85 min: The fifth and final sub will be Brendan Aaronson, who has taken up a niche career in trying to help European clubs avoid relegation.
Bolivia look beaten.
82 min: Robinson and Scally are both joining the fun from the back line, Scally earns a corner kick. Pulisic sends it over everyone, and it’s cleared.
Now Antonee Robinson is down – probably took a small knock in all of that. Oh – replay shows that he got kicked in the face. Ouch. But he’s back up and ready to go.
81 min: Bad giveaway for the USA, and two Bolivian attackers are bearing down on Richards. All of a sudden, the 2-on-1 becomes a 2-on-8, as Bolivia’s front lines are simply not engaging.
Quickly taken back the other way, and it’s another Pepi shot and a good save, albeit with a dangerous rebound.
79 min: Bolivia finally get into the US third, but not for long.
Free kick, direct play to Pulisic, he fights off a defender and lays it over to Pepi, who lashes a hard shot at the keeper. Maybe that shot could’ve gone a foot or two in either direction and gone in, but that’s better from Pepi.
77 min: So many half-chances, so little time to sum them up.
NOW Luca de la Torre enters, and it’s McKennie who departs.
76 min: Ramiro Vaca is entering the game. I thought he was listed as a starter. In fact, I’m pretty sure he was. But Fernandez is down for Bolivia, so maybe they’re going to change it up. Indeed they are – Fernandez is the one who comes out.
Luca de la Torre is coming in for … someone.
Pulisic seems irritated with the time-wasting, but surely that only hurts Bolivia’s cause.
And it’s not hurting the USA’s rhythm – a quick combination results in a Weah shot just over the bar.
72 min: Pulisic and Pepi combine, but Pepi’s touch is once again a little off.
Ball ends up back in the US half, and Ream plays it up for Weah. His run is cut off, but the US maintain possession still. Bolivia aren’t getting a sniff of anything.
70 min: CHANCE, and it’s another one for Pepi on a through ball from Weah. A sliding defender gets it out for a corner.
69 min: Another chance for Pulisic, but this one doesn’t get BOLD CAPITALS because it was a bit awkward and bounced high over the bar.
But the bottom line is that the USA are continuing to boss this game, giving Bolivia no chance to get the ball and get back into it.
67 min: CHANCE, and it’s the excellent Antonee Robinson on the left. His cross just glances off Pepi’s foot, and the striker grimaces as the shot goes wide.
65 min: We will soon see Cardoso and Pepi. By “soon,” I apparently mean “now.” Balogun is out, as is Reyna, whose last act on the field is to earn another free kick.
63 min: Incoherence reigns on the field at the moment.
Fitzhugh Yeatman writes: “New respect for you - regarding Annabeth Gish - you’re the first person who went to Duke who has ever mentioned something about your college without telling everyone you went to Duke! But then I’m biased - Wahoowa!”
(For those who don’t know, that’s a reference to the University of Virginia – which, for my money, can be even snootier than Duke. But I’m teasing my dad’s alma mater. And in fairness, I have often mentioned Duke a lot more than I should. Not like I’d have a chance of getting in today. I think they’d prefer that I not mention I went there. I surely drag down the average alumni income.)
61 min: Scally makes a foray forward and gets a hip check for his trouble. Free kick, maybe 30 yards out and off center.
60 min: CHANCE for Pulisic, who beats a couple of defenders at the top of the penalty area and fires. Viscarra, who maybe could’ve done better against the early shot that put the USA up 1-0, responds well this time.
58 min: Solid move down the left this time for the USA, with a little bit of possession in the Bolivian penalty area. Played back, but the USA retain the ball.
56 min: Stoppage to deal with an injury to Tim Ream. He stands and seems OK.
55 min: Bolivia are turning up the intensity now, and they’ve won their first corner of the game.
53 min: The ball’s in the net, but this is called offside, pending VAR. Back heel from Weah to McKennie, and McKennie provides a return pass to Weah – who’s a good yard offside. But Weah plays to Balogun, who emphatically thumps the ball into the net, so after the recent misplay, that’s progress.
51 min: A giveaway in the US midfield, and Fernandez has a shot from 22. Matt Turner easily saves it but spills it. No Bolivian players in the area, though, and Turner crawls to collect the ball.
50 min: Menacho was the other player subbed out. That leaves two players, Villamil and the captain Haquin, sitting on yellows.
Weah finds space on the right and drills it hard toward the far post – unfortunately too hard and too far ahead of Balogun.
48 min: Pulisic nearly conjured up one of the finest US highlights in recent memory, calmly taking the ball down the line on the left with defenders draping themselves on him. After shrugging both of them off, he cut in toward the middle and shot, but he drilled it right at a defender.
Back the other way, McKennie slides from behind and gets a yellow card. Free kick, headed away by Ream.
47 min: Another good start to a half for the US, pressing a bit to unnerve the Bolivian defense.
Hey – there’s Musah. And Adams is indeed out.
Bolivia making a bunch of changes. Cuellar, born in the Barcelona area and developed for part of his youth at the Catalan colossus, is in. Terceros, who moved to Brazil as a teenager but remained a Bolivian national, is in. Ramallo, a veteran who spent a brief time in Brazil, is in. Medina is off. So is Justiniano, who had a yellow card.
Kurt Perleberg asks: “Do Americans even care about the Copa America?”
Yes.
Anything else?
The commentary crew mentioned that Tyler Adams would likely have his playing time “managed” – in other words, limited. So will we see a halftime sub? Maybe Pulisic’s Milan teammate, Yunus Musah?
Joe Pearson notes that the surface looks fine. I saw one moment in which Weah lost his footing, but he was trying a bit too hard to make something happen.
Peter Oh: “I’d like to see the USMNT play Turkiye. Why? To unite their respective right backs Müldür and Scally, thus lighting a fire under the X-Files reboot. The truth is out there.”
I went to college with Annabeth Gish, who was on the show at one time, but I wasn’t cool enough to meet her. Probably still the case.
OK, to the mailbag …
Rick McGahey: “USA is the better side out there in terms of skill and conditioning , but they are slow to the ball and much of their passing is inaccurate. Bolivia back four disciplined and packed back tightly into the box not allowing much room to go through on the ground. Reyna moving all over the field but not in a coherent fashion, attack seems opportunistic without much design.”
And a short time later: “Well, I sent the critical email and they scored. I’ll have to do more of that!”
Halftime: USA 2-0 Bolivia
The first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes were every bit as good as anyone could hope from the US team, and they got a goal in each of those spells. In between, things were a tad belabored. Let’s not speak of that.
Pulisic has a superb goal and a fine assist. Balogun has been erratic but dangerous, and his goal was sublime. Reyna is now fully in Bolivia’s heads and has made a couple of their players pick up yellow cards.
45 min +1: Reyna tries a backheel but forgets to have a teammate on the receiving end of it. Maybe the first mistake he has made this half.
45 min: We’ll have two minutes of stoppage time. Or maybe a hair more because Pulisic is shaking off the effects of a clattering near the benches. Free kick.
Goal! USA 2-0 Bolivia (Balogun 44)
Balogun and Pulisic trade places, with Balogun going left to take a pass from the captain. He takes a couple of touches, then threads a perfectly placed shot through a few Bolivian defenders’ legs and just inside the far post.
42 min: Weah tries to find away around his defender and cannot.
Instead, the USA try the left side, with some nifty work by Pulisic and Robinson to earn a throw-in.
40 min: I just got an email with the subject line “USA slow and inaccurate.” That’s fair to say. The funny thing is that the slower they go, the less accurate they are.
38 min: Scally makes a solid move on the right, and the USA are off. But it bogs down with Balogun, who has no creative ideas on the edge of the box.
36 min: Adams plays it diagonally across to Weah, who has timed his run and is behind the defense. He tries to center to Balogun, but two Bolivian defenders have sandwiched the US center forward.
Another diagonal ball to Weah, who plays it back. A through ball sails high.
34 min: Mildly dangerous cross for Bolivia, but Reyna has tracked back and cuts out the danger.
The USA play the other way, and Reyna’s already there, trying a backheel to free a player on the flank.
US fans are undoubtedly grateful that Reyna and coach Gregg Berhalter worked out their differences. He’s the best player on the field at the moment.
32 min: Robinson neatly wins the ball near midfield. Adams seems to have been hauled down, but the referee sees differently.
(I believe I’m required to mention in every commentary that I’ve been a referee for five years, and it’s a difficult job, even at levels far slower than this.)
31 min: Another late tackle on Reyna, another yellow card. Haquin, the captain, was nowhere near the ball.
Off the free kick, the US get the ball into the middle of the penalty area, but Balogun is unable to complete a spin move and get the ball on frame.
Two US players are then clattered to the turf, but the referee isn’t interested.
29 min: Richards plays a through ball … through everything.
Adams has another poor play on the ball. He’s having a difficult time of it.
28 min: A nasty tackle by Justiniano sends Reyna to the ground in a heap and prompts several US players to rush in for a confrontation. Cooler heads prevail, and the Bolivian player sees a yellow card.
26 min: At last, the US work the ball forward. McKennie stretches to keep the ball from traveling out of play past the goal, earning a corner kick but perhaps straining something in the process.
They play it backwards.
25 min: Handball on Bolivia, and they decide to carry the ball around while chatting with the referee. Reyna decides he’s had enough of that, and he reaches in to pop the ball free. Mild anger ensues.
24 min: Medina collides with Pulisic and gets the free kick near midfield. They play it backwards.
23 min: A bit more possession on the other side of midfield, and the US earn a free kick 40 yards out. They play it backwards.
22 min: Like a golfer lining up a putt with a caddy, US players examine their options before taking a goal kick.
20 min: Center holds it … holds it … holds it.
Bolivia don’t seem eager to press, so the US backline engages in a bit of practice knocking the ball around. Slowly.
Not sure how often this stadium is this quiet.
18 min: Yeesh. Adams, under no pressure, plays wide to Scally but skies it well over the right back’s head. US supporters surely hoping he can shake off some rust.
16 min: After a laughably one-sided spell in the first 10 minutes, the USA have lost their grip on the game, spending a lot of time in their own half unable to pass their way back the other direction.
But they finally break through, and McKennie darts into the penalty area with the ball to earn another corner that sails tantalizingly close to one or two US foreheads.
14 min: A better sequence for the US in its own half – until Scally sends a crossfield pass somewhere near the fourth official.
Weah then concedes a free kick at midfield.
12 min: Bolivia spend several long seconds pondering their options from a throw-in. They throw it back into their own half. Not a lot of attacking panache on this team right now.
11 min: Balogun again earns a corner kick, and Bolivia throw several players toward Pulisic to make sure he doesn’t take a short pass and a shot this time. Instead, it’s played to Reyna, who can’t redirect it on frame.
Updated
10 min: The good news for Bolivia – the US don’t look too sharp at the back. Some clumsy passes let Bolivia take a shot from 25 yards out, but it goes nowhere near.
9 min: US attackers keep Bolivia pinned back for a good long sequence before giving it away. Bolivia bring it forward and pass out to the left flank – neglecting to have that pass find any Bolivian players. It rolls harmlessly out of play.
8 min: CHANCE for Weah, though it might have been a bit better if he could’ve threaded a pass to Balogun as the two forwards raced through the attacking third in their respective channels. Kick save by the busy Bolivian keeper.
7 min: Bolivia pass the ball around at the back under light US pressure until Viscarra loses his patience and blasts it forward. That also does not work.
5 min: Free kick to Bolivia, and it’s hit hard but straight at Turner. Early test passed for the US goalkeeper.
Goal! USA 1-0 Bolivia (Pulisic 3)
Balogun wins a corner kick. US players do a sharp sequence of short passes, and Pulisic blasts a curling shot from one corner of the penalty area to the far upper corner. Viscarra gets a finger or two on it, but it’s not enough.
Updated
1 min: The USA could easily be up 1-0 already. A few seconds after kickoff, Weah raced down the right and fired off a cross that Viscarra had to come out and punch clear. The USA kept possession, and Bolivia should count themselves lucky that Balogun wasn’t quite ready for a sharply hit through ball.
Domestic leagues …
Another trend to track over 30 years – you may have noticed that the vast majority of Bolivian players are based in Bolivia. In 1994, it was a majority, but perhaps not quite as overwhelming. Erwin Sanchez was based in Portugal. A couple of players were in Argentina and Colombia, while a few more played in Chile. Jaime Moreno soon went to Middlesbrough, then joined Marco Etcheverry in moving to DC United.
Also in 1994, more than half of the US team had no club. They were under contract to the US Soccer Federation.
Today, only three players on the US team are not based in Europe. The roster includes three Major League Soccer players – fewer than the number of MLS players on the rosters of Peru, Panama and Jamaica.
Kickoff imminent …
To answer Joe’s question – the roof appears to be closed.
The biggest question is probably the playing surface. As they did in Atlanta, the organizers have put natural grass into a place that normally has artificial turf, and that’s sometimes a problem.
Funny – it seemed to work back in 1994, when natural grass was laid down in the Pontiac Silverdome for the World Cup. Has turf technology gone backwards? Are players pickier these days? Or are the powers that be not devoting enough time to their agricultural efforts?
Joe Pearson writes:
Hi Beau!
Just yesterday, at the end of the Belgium v Romania match, I emailed Will Unwin to jokingly ask who had the MBM duties for Ecuador v Venezuela, knowing that an 11:00 PM kickoff in the UK probably wasn’t going to get a lot of traffic. So I am quite happy to find that his American cousin will be handling the MBM this evening!
P.S. I hope they have the roof closed at JerryWorld; it’s 96 in Arlington right now.
It’s been 99 where I live, but I haven’t gone outside in days.
I’ll check my family tree for links to Will. I know I’m related to the McGregor clan of Scotland, so I’m a little sad after the Euro game.
Bolivia lineup
Guillermo Viscarra (The Strongest – yes, that’s a club name) is in goal, which gives us an excuse to link to his partner’s viral video from that time he stopped a Neymar PK.
Left wing-back Roberto Fernandez (Bolivar) is the only player valued at 1m Euros at transfermarkt. He just finished a loan spell in Russia. The other four players on the back line: Jose Sagredo (Bolivar), captain Luis Haquin (Ponte Preda, Brazil), US-born 31-year-old Adrian Jusino (The Strongest, but we’ll always think of him with the Tulsa Roughnecks), Diego Medina (Always Ready – yes, another Bolivian club name).
The midfield is Leonel Justiniano (Bolivar), Ramiro Vaca (Bolivar, spent some time with Beerschot in Belgium and has a solid scoring record), Gabriel Villamil (on loan from Bolivar to LDU Quito in Ecuador).
Up front: former DC United/Richmond Kickers player Bruno Miranda (The Strongest) and young prospect Lucas Chavez (Bolivar).
USA lineup
In goal, it’s Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest), whose reputation has plummeted since the last World Cup after some wayward performances in England. (Remember when one-fourth of the starting keepers in the EPL came from US colleges? Good times.)
The backline: left back Antonee Robinson (Fulham), 36-year-old stalwart Tim Ream (also Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), and new-ish right back Joe Scally (Borussia Moenchengladbach).
Midfield: minor surprise here, as Gio Reyna (club status always up in the air) gets the nod along with Tyler Adams (Bournemouth … wait, still?) and Weston McKennie (Juventus).
Up front: the USA’s great hope Christian Pulisic (Milan) and Timothy Weah (Juventus) will flank Folarin Balogun (Monaco).
How a permission slip sunk Bolivia …
It’s not as if Bolivia has been going well.
They’re ranked 85th, by far the lowest in this tournament.
They’ve had no success in international youth or senior-level tournament. They did have one nice World Cup goal – in 1994. (On US soil, so there’s that.)
A lot of the players who’ve managed to accomplish anything of note recently have stepped away from the national team or are injured.
But they have Moises Paniagua! Not long ago, the 16-year-old became the second-youngest scorer in Copa Libertadores history. It seems just a matter of time before he moves to a big club, and maybe the Copa America would be his breakthrough.
Except … as a minor, he needed his parents to sign some forms.
Preamble
Hey, I want to play too! The US will get to … yeah, the quarterfinals sound right.
The US have questions at goalkeeper. And right back. And possibly center back. And midfield. And striker. And especially at coach. Aside from that, all is well.
But they’d better win this one. This is not the Bolivia you remember from 1994 and the early days of MLS, when Marco Etcheverry and Jaime Moreno tore up every defense in this hemisphere.
Hopefully for US folks, Bolivia won’t be as lucky as England were in the cricket earlier today. Earlier in the T20 World Cup, England played as if they weren’t really sure what the object of the game was (a bit like their soccer team). Those players were apparently called back to their home planets and replaced by people who had telekinetic control of the ball and spoiled the fun showdown potential between Aaron Jones and Jofra Archer. How rude. See if we invite them back to the USA and West Indies any time soon.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how far our writers see the US getting at this tournament:
The US will get to …
The quarter-finals. The draw against Brazil in their final tune-up at least gives some evidence the Colombia blowout was a hiccup. But beating either of those teams, the most likely quarter-final opponents, in a knockout match may be a bridge too far for a US team still figuring things out. Jon Arnold
The quarter-finals. Had the US been placed on the easy Group A/B side of the bracket instead of the brutal Group C/D side, things might be different. The USMNT will emerge from their group. But with Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay in their way? A semi-final run is a touch too far. Joseph Lowery
This summer’s Copa is a test run, of sorts, in the lead-up to the next World Cup, and if successful – on and off the pitch – the tournament can fuel the sport’s growth and popularity before the 2026 showpiece. Oh, and the US will reach the quarter-finals. Julia Ranney
The quarter-finals. The US will rise to be among the eight best teams in the Americas. They face a complicated group stage. Uruguay are the hardest team on the schedule, but they will also face a tough rival in Panama, who have become one of the most competitive teams in Concacaf. Despite the challenges, the US will make it to the second round. Raul Vilchis
You can read their full rundown of predictions here:
